Lionel Barber | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/lionelbarber
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Sun, 02 Aug 2015 21:25:16 GMT2015-08-02T21:25:16Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
Media Monkey: Gillian Tett, Lionel Barber, Jesse Norman, and Tony Hallhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2015/jul/26/gillian-tett-lionel-barber-jesse-norman-tony-hall
How will FT’s Tett chief feature on Nikkei’s index, Andrew Gowers pours oil on troubled waters and BBC’s director general goes jogging in the dark<p>• Gillian Tett is the FT’s US managing editor, the position Lionel Barber occupied before becoming editor 10 years ago. And <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/23/financial-times-sale-pearson" title="">last week’s Nikkei deal for the paper</a> looks to have significantly advanced her already strong chances of succeeding Barber as its first female editor: those predicting a “Tett offensive” that starts here point out that she had a previous job as Japanese bureau chief, wrote <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Saving-Sun-Gillian-Tett/dp/1844136124/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1437753741&amp;sr=1-4&amp;keywords=Gillian+Tett" title="">a book</a> (Saving the Sun) “about Japan and how westerners need to behave there”, and speaks Japanese. Barber, in contrast, speaks German and so might have been better placed for survival had the underbidder Axel Springer been the successful suitor.</p><p>• As he had apparently been left out of the loop, Barber’s position looked especially wobbly on Thursday as he addressed staff on Thursday on the deal – after uncomfortably having to push his way through a scrum of journalists watching Sky News to find out what was really going on, one hack suggested on Twitter – and insisted “this was not, and is not, a shotgun marriage” (a mischievous underling who tweeted “did he say ‘shogun marriage’?” is wisely keeping his head down). If Barber’s cheeks were the same hue as his paper, he was not alone: about an hour before a triple-bylined FT story confirmed the Nikkei deal in mid-afternoon, the same three reporters had embarrassingly published “Pearson in talks with Axel Springer over sale of FT Group”, in which the business paper’s customary comedy troupe of unnamed informants (“several people familiar with the situation”) provided the trio’s basis for haplessly chorusing that “Nikkei has also had discussions with Pearson … but the talks with Springer are further advanced”.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2015/jul/26/gillian-tett-lionel-barber-jesse-norman-tony-hall">Continue reading...</a>Financial TimesNewspapers & magazinesMediaLionel BarberBBCTony HallNikkeiSun, 26 Jul 2015 17:02:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2015/jul/26/gillian-tett-lionel-barber-jesse-norman-tony-hallPhotograph: public domainFT’s Axel Springer storyPhotograph: public domainFT’s Axel Springer storyPhotograph: Mike Mcgregor/PRCould Japanese-speaking Gillian Tett become the first women editor of the Financial Times? Photograph: Mike McgregorPhotograph: Mike Mcgregor/PRCould Japanese-speaking Gillian Tett become the first women editor of the Financial Times? Photograph: Mike McgregorMonkey2015-07-26T17:02:10ZTurning Japanese: FT journalists have a yen to get on with new ownershttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/23/financial-times-journalists-have-a-yen-to-get-on-with-their-new-owners
<p>Staff take to Twitter over surprise £844m sale by Pearson to media group Nikkei</p><p>Financial Times journalists reacted with shock and wry, occasionally dark humour at the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/23/financial-times-sale-pearson">127-year-old newspaper’s surprise &pound;844m purchase by Japanese media group Nikkei</a>.</p><p>The head of the FT’s Lex column, Robert Armstrong, said the column would be overhauled with immediate effect and described the sale as a “goddamn bargain”.</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lex column to publish exclusively in anime, effective immediately</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nikkei pays ~$2.4m per FT journalist. A goddamn bargain if you ask me.</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/meganmurp">@meganmurp</a> Well, the 35x earnings is for the whole FT Gruop, and they are not buying that. I think it's more like 70x</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FT sale to Nikkei will be good for <a href="https://twitter.com/FTAlphaville">@FTAlphaville</a> <a href="https://t.co/IduI04guAT">https://t.co/IduI04guAT</a></p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nikkei CEO: &quot;we share the same journalistic values&quot;. Really</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I for one welcome our new Japanese overlords (that's me in the middle) <a href="http://t.co/OiASublv0A">pic.twitter.com/OiASublv0A</a></p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FT meeting <a href="http://t.co/PULNrQC4VL">pic.twitter.com/PULNrQC4VL</a></p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fallon &quot;loves&quot; the FT. But he also says FT is better served by being owned by a co completely focused on the best journalism in the world</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Barber. &quot;I have every reason to believe and expect Nikkei will respect this vital principle: editorial independence&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FT?src=hash">#FT</a></p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Barber in Q&amp;A: &quot;This was not and is not a shot gun marriage there has been hours of conversation about this&quot; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FTsale?src=hash">#FTsale</a></p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pearson says goodbye <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FT?src=hash">#FT</a> <a href="http://t.co/UYdZdslvmc">pic.twitter.com/UYdZdslvmc</a></p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Worst possible time for a London business to embark on a search for new space, incidentally. Big shortfall of space, rents spiking.</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wondering where we're moving to now <a href="https://twitter.com/FT">@FT</a> has been sold. Note Nikkei's London editorial HQ is a leafy lane in Winkfield, Berkshire.</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&quot;That's the first and last order I'll take from you as proprietor&quot;, says FT ed <a href="https://twitter.com/lionelbarber">@lionelbarber</a> after Fallon tells hacks to press mute.</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In the FT newsroom as the Nikkei deal news breaks. <a href="http://t.co/A9waAAOos9">pic.twitter.com/A9waAAOos9</a></p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Smug colleague is sending emails in Japanese <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/sigh?src=hash">#sigh</a></p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In 1987 Pearson sold the FT's building to a Japanese buyer and kept the paper. Now it's selling the paper and keeping the building. Discuss.</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nikkei’s core value is &quot;Long-Time Policy Over Free Market System&quot;. Still, their English beats Pearson's Harvard-wannabe management-speak.</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wait! Did we get sold? No wonder newsroom so distracted. I thought it was cricket. <a href="https://t.co/da4Qutg7Sj">https://t.co/da4Qutg7Sj</a></p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">And here I was spending all day learning German.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/23/financial-times-journalists-have-a-yen-to-get-on-with-their-new-owners">Continue reading...</a>Financial TimesMediaNewspapers & magazinesNikkeiMedia businessUK newsJapanLionel BarberThu, 23 Jul 2015 17:06:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/23/financial-times-journalists-have-a-yen-to-get-on-with-their-new-ownersPhotograph: /Photoshot/PhotoshotFT staff have been reacting to the paper’s sale to Japanese media group NikkeiPhotograph: /Photoshot/PhotoshotFT staff have been reacting to the paper’s sale to Japanese media group NikkeiJohn Plunkett and Kevin Rawlinson2015-07-23T17:06:26ZMediaGuardian 100http://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2014/dec/08/mediaguardian-100-2014-interactive-guide
<p>Who are the most powerful people in the UK’s media right now?</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/dec/11/britons-who-went-to-fee-paying-schools-dominate-mediaguardian-100">Britons who went to fee-paying schools dominate MG100</a></li><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/dec/08/mediaguardian-100-2014-google-facebook-apple-amazon">Corporate giants dominate digital landscape</a></li></ul> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2014/dec/08/mediaguardian-100-2014-interactive-guide">Continue reading...</a>MediaMedia businessLarry PageMark ZuckerbergTim CookTony HallJeff BezosDick CostoloRupert MurdochLenny HenryPaul DacreMartin ClarkeTaylor SwiftSir Martin SorrellDanny CohenJeremy DarrochAdam CrozierPeter FinchamSajid JavidRona FairheadSimon CowellSophie Turner LaingTed SarandosGavin PattersonAlan RusbridgerMike DarceyCharlotte MooreDavid DinsmoreDavid AbrahamNick RobinsonJonah PerettiJohn FallonJames HardingViscount RothermereJames PurnellLionel BarberRussell BrandJohn WitherowMurdoch MacLennanJay HuntDaniel EkTim DavieJohn MaloneDavid JosephHelen BoadenJohn WhittingdaleBenedict CumberbatchGeordie GreigRichard DesmondIan HislopMartin IvensBob ShennanAlan ParkerSheridan SmithMarissa MayerJohn MicklethwaitStuart MurphyDavid LynchJeremy ClarksonMatthew FreudEvgeny LebedevBen StephensonNicholas ColeridgeAshley TaborRoland RuddSimon FoxJamie OliverLloyd EmbleyRichard AyoadeSteven MoffatJeremy PaxmanJustine RobertsAmol RajanMishal HusainLena DunhamAlexandra ShulmanGary LinekerPiers MorganKim KardashianMon, 08 Dec 2014 07:00:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/ng-interactive/2014/dec/08/mediaguardian-100-2014-interactive-guidePhotograph: The GuardianPhotograph: The GuardianGarry Blight, John Plunkett, Frances Perraudin2014-12-08T07:00:07ZArts, media power, digital disruption, investigative journalism - events galorehttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/nov/07/media-events-conferences-investigative-journalism
<p>There are a host of media events coming up. Here's the pick of the bunch in chronological order:</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/nov/07/media-events-conferences-investigative-journalism">Continue reading...</a>MediaMedia events and conferencesInvestigative journalismArts policyWikiLeaksSurveillanceJulian AssangeJohn PilgerLionel BarberFinancial TimesThe TimesBBCWill GompertzAlan RusbridgerGoldsmiths, University of LondonUniversity of OxfordCity University LondonDamian McBrideFri, 07 Nov 2014 14:03:18 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/nov/07/media-events-conferences-investigative-journalismRoy Greenslade2014-11-07T14:03:18ZMedia Monkey’s Diary: Lionel Barber, Loose Women and Jon Snowhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/oct/12/lionel-barber-loose-women-jon-snow
<p>• On Twitter, FT editor Lionel Barber has had a radical makeover. If you access the <a href="https://twitter.com/BarberLionel" title="">@barberlionel</a> account, you find an album cover-like image of a doll-faced young woman with a tangled mane of red hair against a backdrop of sea and clouds, and tweets in Russian that when translated announce odd, not very Lionel things like: “24-year-old model marries an 81-year-old billionaire” and “Honda launches the new crossover XH-R”. This is probably an example of the way Russian nationalist trolls create clone accounts posing as western journalists, according to Monkey’s man with his ear pressed up against the Kremlin, though it’s more usual for the journalist’s own face to be used alongside fake pro-Putin tweets. What sinister propaganda purpose is served by trying to convince Twitter users that the Pink ’Un’ editor – who used to be @barberlionel, but can now be found, still in cricket gear, at <a href="https://twitter.com/lionelbarber" title="">@lionelbarber</a> – is a Russian version of Lorde or Ella Eyre remains for the moment obscure.</p><p>• After making a sane and important intervention in the recent row over Hilary Mantel’s short story about Margaret Thatcher – he said the novelist should be investigated by the police – Sir Tim Bell displayed equally combative form in an interview promoting his autobiography in Friday’s Financial Times. Though mostly sounding like a combination of Simon Heffer, Victor Meldrew and Ed Reardon – he avoids Twitter because it’s “the end of civilisation”, and smartphones because “I want a mobile phone, not a mobile computer” – Maggie’s former spin doctor turned into someone closer to Tony Benn or Jeremy Hardy on the subject of bankers, dismissing them as “all complete criminals. The whole bloody lot”. Might such views not unnerve the financial sector clients of Bell Pottinger (the PR firm he founded and chairs) such as Investec and TPG, his interviewer mildly wondered. “That’s the problem, you see, you’re not allowed to tell the truth. Isn’t that disgusting?”</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/oct/12/lionel-barber-loose-women-jon-snow">Continue reading...</a>MediaLionel BarberJon SnowJason SeikenSun, 12 Oct 2014 17:06:18 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/oct/12/lionel-barber-loose-women-jon-snowPhotograph: PRThe @barberlionel account on Twitter.Photograph: PRThe @barberlionel account on Twitter.Monkey2014-10-12T17:06:18ZNick Davies's hacking book makes FT/McKinsey award shortlisthttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/sep/25/financialtimes-awards-and-prizes
<p>Nick Davies's book about phone hacking has been shortlisted for the 2014 Financial Times and McKinsey business book of the year award.</p><p>Hack Attack: How the truth caught up with Rupert Murdoch is one of six books chosen by a distinguished panel of judges, chaired by the FT's editor, Lionel Barber.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/sep/25/financialtimes-awards-and-prizes">Continue reading...</a>MediaBooksFinancial TimesAwards and prizesLionel BarberBusinessTony HallBBCRupert MurdochThu, 25 Sep 2014 06:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/sep/25/financialtimes-awards-and-prizesRoy Greenslade2014-09-25T06:30:00ZRefreshing changes for the Financial Timeshttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/sep/15/financialtimes-newspaper-formats
<p>I must say that I like the look of the &quot;refreshed&quot; Financial Times. Much brighter than before and that new typeface, Financier, is a winner too.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/sep/15/financialtimes-newspaper-formats">Continue reading...</a>MediaFinancial TimesNewspaper formatsNational newspapersNewspapersLionel BarberDigital mediaMon, 15 Sep 2014 11:41:21 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/sep/15/financialtimes-newspaper-formatsRoy Greenslade2014-09-15T11:41:21ZLionel Barber: ‘It’s adapt or die frankly and that’s what we’re doing’http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/sep/14/financial-times-lionel-barber-sale
FT’s editor talks about his new-look print edition, press regulation – but refuses to be drawn on a possible sale<p>In 1999, when I worked at the Financial Times’s head office by the Thames, its vast open-plan newsroom, clocks showing different time zones and huge numbers of shirt and tie-wearing men made it seem more like a bank than a “proper” newspaper. Now, most of what was once affectionately known as Fleet Street has aped the Pink ’Un’s open plan and integrated workspace – although there was still a notable absence of women in the early-morning newsroom when I returned at the end of last week.</p><p>In other ways too, the FT has mirrored the newspaper industry’s recent trajectory. When Lionel Barber took over as editor nine years ago, the paper sold more than twice as many copies worldwide as the 210,000 sold in August. At the same time, digital subscriptions have grown from 75,000 to 455,000, making a far larger total readership. Yet today Barber is launching a new-look print edition. Amid such signs of decline – just 63,936 copies sold in the UK – why invest in print at all?</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/sep/14/financial-times-lionel-barber-sale">Continue reading...</a>Lionel BarberFinancial TimesNewspapers & magazinesPearsonNational newspapersNewspapersDigital mediaMedia businessMediaUK newsSun, 14 Sep 2014 17:08:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/sep/14/financial-times-lionel-barber-salePhotograph: Linda Nylind/GuardianFT editor Lional Barber:'I am not somebody who has loads of sleepless nights' Photograph: Linda Nylind for the GuardianPhotograph: Linda Nylind/GuardianFT editor Lional Barber:'I am not somebody who has loads of sleepless nights' Photograph: Linda Nylind for the GuardianJane Martinson2014-09-14T17:08:13ZReporting financial crisis - what the media did right... and wronghttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/aug/15/financial-crisis-financialtimes
<p>A book due to be published early next month, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Media-Financial-Crises-Comparative-Perspectives/dp/1138022799/">The Media and Financial Crises</a>, offers valuable insights into the relationship between the media and global financial institutions. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/aug/15/financial-crisis-financialtimes">Continue reading...</a>MediaFinancial crisisBooksFinancial TimesLionel BarberCity University LondonUniversity of LondonFri, 15 Aug 2014 07:51:18 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2014/aug/15/financial-crisis-financialtimesRoy Greenslade2014-08-15T07:51:18ZMedia Monkey’s Diary: Robert Peston, Hugh Grant and FT Love Heartshttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/jun/08/robert-peston-hugh-grant-love-hearts
<p>✒ Robert Peston’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jun/06/bbc-obsessed-agenda-daily-mail-robert-peston-charles-wheeler" title="">Charles Wheeler lecture on Thursday</a> – complaining that the BBC too often follows where the Daily Mail leads, that journalism of integrity is imperilled by the commerce-friendly ways of “online culture” – was not sent to corporation thought-police or communications execs for vetting before delivery; and that may have been wise, given that a hefty chunk of the speech was devoted to slating such figures’ pernicious influence on the media. “I have never been in any doubt that PRs are the enemy – our mission as hacks is always to get around the PR, to sideline him or her,” the prophet Pesto declared. The flack-whacking continued, as he denounced today’s comms industry as “much more machine-like, controlled and – in its slightly chilling way – professional” than when he was able to “milk” relatively piratical publicists in the 90s. His boldest claim was that “many PRs” are worse than liars, as these “professional bullshitters have lost the capacity to tell the difference between fact and fiction”. Good luck to any BBC spinners assigned in future to look after him.</p><p>✒ Hugh Grant, a prominent supporter of Hacked Off, arrived in time for the end of Peston’s jeremiad, and graced the after-party. But the Four Weddings star perhaps wasn’t aware that British Journalism Review, a host of the event, is largely old-school Fleet Street and not very enthusiastic about his organisation’s aims or indeed the role of people like him (an editorial in the latest issue rejoices sniffily that, in the arguments about press regulation, “the influence of show business agitators [is] no more”). So while there were guests who were charmed to see Grant sprinkling celebrity glitter, some members of the BJR editorial board gave the impression that the event had suddenly acquired a nasty smell.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/jun/08/robert-peston-hugh-grant-love-hearts">Continue reading...</a>Robert PestonMediaLionel BarberFinancial TimesNewspapers & magazinesHacked Off campaignBBC2BBCTelevision industryHugh GrantNational newspapersUK newsRadio 1Sun, 08 Jun 2014 17:08:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/jun/08/robert-peston-hugh-grant-love-heartsPhotograph: Katherine Rose/ObserverIn a spin … the BBC's Robert Peston. Photograph: Katherine Rose for the ObserverPhotograph: Katherine Rose/ObserverIn a spin … the BBC's Robert Peston. Photograph: Katherine Rose for the ObserverMonkey2014-06-08T17:08:06ZMedia Monkey's Diary: Helen Boaden, Jill Abramson, and Peter Finchamhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/may/18/helen-boaden-jill-abramson-peter-fincham
<p>✒ They've done the same job, but that hasn't prevented relations between them turning frosty. A planned restructuring by BBC network radio supremo Helen Boaden will bring together the different stations' back office operations, thereby taking a degree of control away from their respective controllers. Radio 4 boss Gwyneth Williams is prominent among the controllers made grumpy by this centralising move, and she and Boaden (who ran Radio 4 before her ultimately nightmarish stint as empress of news) are seen as unlikely to be sharing any girls' nights out in the near future. Team Gwyneth and Team Helen hashtags and badges can only be a matter of time.</p><p>✒ Laughs have been scarce at the employment tribunal where <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/may/16/tony-hall-bbc-dmi-new-broom-sacked" title="">former BBC CTO John Linwood is claiming he was made the &quot;fall guy&quot; for the &pound;100m failed Digital Media Initiative</a>. But there was one &quot;saucer of milk&quot; moment, eliciting murmurs of &quot;oooh!&quot;, when Linwood was asked about BBC director of operations Dominic Coles, who was among those who told him he would face a disciplinary process: BBC lawyer: &quot;Do you respect Mr Coles?&quot; Linwood: &quot;I respect Mr Coles in terms of the fact he is an accomplished finance manager within the BBC.&quot; Lawyer: &quot;Do you like him?&quot; Linwood (huffily): &quot;Not any more, no.&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/may/18/helen-boaden-jill-abramson-peter-fincham">Continue reading...</a>BBCMediaHelen BoadenJill AbramsonPeter FinchamLionel BarberITV channelUK newsSajid JavidSun, 18 May 2014 17:19:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2014/may/18/helen-boaden-jill-abramson-peter-finchamTim Knox/GuardianThe sacking of Jill Abramson had to be covered by her own paper, the New York Times. Photograph: Tim Knox for the GuardianTim Knox/GuardianThe sacking of Jill Abramson had to be covered by her own paper, the New York Times. Photograph: Tim Knox for the GuardianMonkey2014-05-18T17:19:00ZFT teams up with Japan's Nikkeihttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/31/financialtimes-nikkei
<p>The Financial Times is forging close links with Japan's leading business media group, Nikkei, <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ec423c46-3b06-11e3-a7ec-00144feab7de.html">according to a memo on its website</a> by the FT's editor, Lionel Barber.</p><p>He writes that the pink paper's latest <a href="http://www.ft.com/reports/japan">Japan Special Report</a> marks the start of closer editorial co-operation between the FT and the Nikkei.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/31/financialtimes-nikkei">Continue reading...</a>MediaFinancial TimesNikkeiJapanUK newsNewspapersNational newspapersLionel BarberThu, 31 Oct 2013 09:52:22 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/31/financialtimes-nikkeiRoy Greenslade2013-10-31T09:52:22ZFinancial Times reaches highest circulation in its 125-year historyhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/30/financialtimes-mediabusiness
<p>The Financial Times is in good shape, <a href="http://www.pearson.com/news/2013/october/pearson-nine-monthinterimmanagementstatement.html">according to today's trading update</a> by its owner, Pearson.</p><p>It reports that the FT, across print and online, has achieved its highest circulation in its 125-year history at nearly 629,000, which is up 5% year on year.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/30/financialtimes-mediabusiness">Continue reading...</a>MediaFinancial TimesMedia businessPearsonDigital mediaLionel BarberAdvertisingWed, 30 Oct 2013 12:03:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/30/financialtimes-mediabusinessRoy Greenslade2013-10-30T12:03:00ZWhy does the British press avoid debating EU membership?http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/22/eu-newspapers
<p><em>Denis MacShane attended a European conference in Brussels last week. The event's main sponsor was the French newspaper, the Nouvel Observateur. Several other European papers acted as sponsors too. </em></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/22/eu-newspapers">Continue reading...</a>MediaEuropean UnionNewspapersNational newspapersBelgiumFranceEU referendumNigel FarageUK Independence party (Ukip)ConservativesLabourEd MilibandThe GuardianThe IndependentFinancial TimesThe EconomistNew StatesmanAlan RusbridgerLionel BarberAmol RajanValery Giscard d'EstaingTue, 22 Oct 2013 15:55:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/22/eu-newspapersDenis MacShane2013-10-22T15:55:00ZMedia Monkey's Diary: BBC, Veep, Lionel Barber and Julian Felloweshttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2013/oct/13/bbc-tony-hall-veep-julian-fellowes
<p>✒ It seems that Tony Hall's new vision for the BBC doesn't include subjecting himself to critical questions from his audience, let alone probing print journalists. After last week's skilfully stage-managed session at Broadcasting House, Hall scarpered for a World at One interview, leaving his senior executives and a somewhat taciturn Lord Patten to chat to guests at the low-key reception afterwards. Hall is making a habit of this: at the Edinburgh TV festival in August, he suddenly sprang onto the stage for an unadvertised appearance in the session on Tony Hall's Big Decisions, said his piece and then was off. But is he quicker off the mark than Jay Hunt? Channel 4's fast-talking, fast-walking creative director has previously been unrivalled in post-press conference exit speed, and the emergence of a convincing challenger has whetted appetites for a head-to-head contest.</p><p>✒ With Hall gone, his finance chief Anne Bulford was invited by hacks to explain how more than &pound;100m of extra savings would be achieved to pay for his vision, but she collared director of strategy James Purnell and asked him to field questions on the funding gap instead. As he then did the media rounds, it became clear that Purnell has assumed the duties of the Prophet Tony's representative on Earth. So glib and unruffled was the minister turned spinner later the same day on Newsnight that Jeremy Paxman was unusually reduced (as was the FT's John Gapper, who barely got a word in) to head-shaking, amused silence by his determination to complete his rehearsed spiel, whether someone else was trying to talk or not – a somewhat ironic deafness, given that Purnell was expounding Hall's dream of a future BBC that recognises the audience's right to be involved, one where &quot;they will talk to us and we will listen&quot;.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2013/oct/13/bbc-tony-hall-veep-julian-fellowes">Continue reading...</a>MediaLionel BarberBBCTony HallJulian FellowesSun, 13 Oct 2013 17:08:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2013/oct/13/bbc-tony-hall-veep-julian-fellowesPRThe stars and hypes … but Sky Atlantic comedy Veep is on the money.PRThe stars and hypes … but Sky Atlantic comedy Veep is on the money.Monkey2013-10-13T17:08:00ZFinancial Times to move to single global print editionhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/09/financialtimes-lionelbarber
<p>The Financial Times is to institute path-breaking changes to the production of its printed newspaper that appear to be the penultimate step towards becoming a digital-only publication.</p><p>A lengthy memo sent yesterday afternoon to staff by the editor, Lionel Barber, stated that the pink paper plans &quot;to launch a single edition, global print product in the first half of 2014.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The 1970s-style newspaper publishing process - making incremental changes to multiple editions through the night is dead. In future, our print product will derive from the web offering - not vice versa.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The process will be akin to a broadcasting schedule. Where once we planned around page lay-outs, we will now adopt a news bulletin-style approach.&quot;</p><p>Dear colleagues, </p><p>We are now ready to take the next steps in our successful &quot;digital first&quot; strategy. This is an exciting but also challenging opportunity for all journalists at the Financial Times. It means changes in work practices, a further shift of resources to ft.com and a significant reshaping of the newspaper. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/09/financialtimes-lionelbarber">Continue reading...</a>MediaFinancial TimesLionel BarberDigital mediaUK newsUS newsNational newspapersNewspapersPaywallsCharging for contentABCsWed, 09 Oct 2013 07:52:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/oct/09/financialtimes-lionelbarberPRThe Financial Times: moving to single global print editionPRThe Financial Times: 'The FT is not for sale,' according to Pearson chief executive John Fallon.Roy Greenslade2013-10-09T07:52:00ZPress regulation - Cameron is right to seek royal charter compromisehttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/sep/11/press-regulation-davidcameron
<p>Summer really must be over because the post-Leveson settlement has returned to the headlines. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/sep/10/cameron-clegg-miliband-press-regulation">It was reported on Tuesday that</a> David Cameron is back on the case. It followed the prime minister's receipt of a letter from Hacked Off <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/sep/10/jk-rowling-hacked-off-press-regulator"> urging him to reject the industry's planned regulator.</a></p><p>Evidently, Cameron isn't entirely convinced by the publishers' plan to replace the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) with the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso).</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/sep/11/press-regulation-davidcameron">Continue reading...</a>MediaPress regulationDavid CameronPress Complaints CommissionJudicial committee of the privy councilNick CleggEd MilibandPoliticsLeveson inquiryLeveson reportMichael GradeThe GuardianFinancial TimesThe IndependentLionel BarberWed, 11 Sep 2013 08:20:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/sep/11/press-regulation-davidcameronRoy Greenslade2013-09-11T08:20:00ZLionel Barber | MediaGuardian 100 2013http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/sep/01/lionel-barber-mediaguardian-100-2013
The Financial Times editor has continued to innovate in digital, launching the breaking news service Fast FT earlier this year<p><strong>Job:</strong> editor, Financial Times<br /><strong>Age:</strong> 58<br /><strong>Industry:</strong> publishing, digital media<br /><strong>2012 ranking:</strong> 37</p><p>Lionel Barber's Financial Times celebrated its 125th anniversary this year but age has proved no object to innovation.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/sep/01/lionel-barber-mediaguardian-100-2013">Continue reading...</a>MediaGuardian 100 2013Lionel BarberFinancial TimesNational newspapersNewspapersNewspapers & magazinesMediaSun, 01 Sep 2013 20:50:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/sep/01/lionel-barber-mediaguardian-100-2013guardian.co.ukLionel Barberguardian.co.ukLionel BarberGuardian Staff2013-09-01T20:50:00ZFT editor: appoint Lord Grade as mediator in press regulation rowhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jun/18/ft-editor-lord-grade-press-regulation
Lionel Barber tells MPs that a deal is achievable – but pressure group Hacked Off says there is no reason to reopen talks<p>The Financial Times editor has proposed that Lord Grade, the former Channel 4 chief executive and BBC chairman, be appointed as a mediator to broker a deal between the newspaper industry and pressure group Hacked Off over a new press regulator.</p><p>Lionel Barber told a parliamentary select committee on Tuesday that a deal needed to be struck before September when the trials of current and former News International journalists and executives accused of phone hacking and illegal payments to public officials begin.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jun/18/ft-editor-lord-grade-press-regulation">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationLionel BarberMichael GradeThe GuardianFinancial TimesNational newspapersNewspapersNewspapers & magazinesMediaUK newsPoliticsTue, 18 Jun 2013 12:26:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jun/18/ft-editor-lord-grade-press-regulationDan Kitwood/Getty ImagesLord Grade Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesDan Kitwood/Getty ImagesLord Grade Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty ImagesLisa O'Carroll2013-06-18T12:26:10ZFinancial Times Group gets a new name – but John Ridding stays in driving seathttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/jun/02/financial-times-group-restructures
Digital innovation, including last week's fastFT launch, and spin-offs keep the readership growing<p><strong>This week MediaGuardian 25, our survey of Britain's most important media companies, covering TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, music and digital, looks at the Financial Times Group.</strong></p><p>The Financial Times Group is on its way into history because its parent, Pearson, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2013/may/29/financialtimes-digital-media?INTCMP=SRCH" title="">has decided to subsume it into a new division as part of a major restructure.</a> So, from the beginning of next year, the FT Group will become part of Pearson's oddly-named Professional unit. The current chief executive, John Ridding, will head the new outfit too.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/jun/02/financial-times-group-restructures">Continue reading...</a>Financial TimesNewspapers & magazinesMediaDigital mediaLionel BarberUK newsThe EconomistMagazinesSun, 02 Jun 2013 21:37:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2013/jun/02/financial-times-group-restructuresSarah Lee/GuardianBite-sized … editor Lionel Barber says fastFT will offer short, sharp takes on news. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the GuardianSarah Lee/GuardianBite-sized … editor Lionel Barber says fastFT will offer short, sharp takes on news. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the GuardianRoy Greenslade2013-06-02T21:37:00Z